Microsoft has an impressive track record as a product pioneer, right from its early days. And recently they have doubled down on new product innovation and launches, with several hardware partnerships, new devices like the collaboration bar, and Teams-native platforms for non-desk scenarios. Microsoft has a large captive audience already on its Windows and Office offerings, giving it a strong possibility of success for any new introductions.
At Microsoft Ignite 2020, the company made headlines with one more product that is a first in its category: Microsoft Teams Panels. Here’s everything we know.
1 – They will be small, Teams-integrated displays for physical conferencing rooms
As offices being to unlock and resume on-premise work, Microsoft might think this to be the perfect time for launching a digital version of your typical details display. And that’s exactly what a Teams panel is: a screen mounted outside conference rooms listing the room details, schedule, and availability.
2 – It will offer one-touch access to popular services
A large meeting requires support from a variety of departments and staff categories, like your in-house pantry or company-provided transportation service. Microsoft Teams Panels will have touch controls taking you to these service providers at one click, making each conferencing room a standalone and self-sufficient entity. Apart from this, you will, of course, be able to reserve any room that turns up as “Available”.
3 – You will be able to book an alternative room without leaving the device
The new Microsoft Teams Panels comes with a feature called “Nearby Rooms”. This is a type of proximity joining capability where the device uses Bluetooth beaconing to find other devices in its category that are available. A version of this feature is already available for Microsoft Teams Rooms as well as its competitor Cisco Spark Rooms.
4 – Crestron and Yealink are the first two hardware partners to jump on aboard
Creston and Yealink are both long-time Microsoft partners. In fact, Yealink’s Microsoft Teams collaboration bars were the first ones to hit the market. Microsoft’s announcement offers a mockup of what the Yealink-powered Teams Panel would look like:
Crestron has a dedicated product lineup called Crestron Flex that covers a wide range of Teams-enabled products, including desk phones, tabletop conferencing hubs, integration kits, etc. Its safe to predict that the new Microsoft Teams Panels will join the Crestron Flex family of products once generally available…
…which brings us to the next and final point.
5 – Microsoft Teams Panels are scheduled for GA by Q1 of 2021
Microsoft officially added this item to its roadmap in September of this year, with the feature ID 68735. It also lists the possible release schedule as of March of the calendar year 2021. Teams Panels will be available worldwide on all standard tenants.
In today’s crowded collaboration tech marketplace, we are always on the lookout for a truly new and disruptive offering. Microsoft Teams Panels is right up there with this year’s shining stars – and looks set to soar even higher, hopefully taking our space utilization capacities with it!
See all our Microsoft Ignite Teams News
